Resume Writing Tip - May, 2008

Part 1

How Jane overcame her Wall of Shame

Jane, a mid-level manager laid off from a manufacturing firm, spent three months trying to get her resume noticed.  She sent more than a dozen resumes out each week to every opening that slightly resembled a job she could do because, after all, the more the merrier.  Something would stick, right? 

Jane organized her job search like she would any project.  Because of the volume of resumes going out, she kept track by putting each ad she answered up on a wall in her home office.  Then, she could track their status and her follow-up calls.  As she began to receive rejection letters, she posted those also.  On many resumes she received no answer at all.  Then, one dark day it hit her - the wall had turned into a glaring “wall of shame.”  It continually reminded her of rejection.  Luckily Jane was able to keep her head above water and, instead of letting it get her down, started looking more closely at her resume.  How could she write a resume that would get noticed?  Here are several resume writing tips she found helpful and several she learned to avoid.

First, there are two basic types of resumes – a functional resume that is most often used for informational interviewing and a chronological resume that is most often used when applying for a job where your job history matches the target and shows a sensible progression of career steps.  The functional resume is created around a “theme” and is often used when trying to bridge to a new or similar industry.  A functional resume is a great tool but you need to have a good understanding of its purpose for you and your marketing strategy. 

Here are resume writing tips Jane found for a functional resume:

Resume Writing Tip #1 – Functional resumes are often great when you are networking with others and exploring other career options where your work experience indirectly showcases those transferable skills you have already mastered. Use it to give an overall view of your background and to position how you work, not where you’ve worked.  The functional resume focuses on what you can bring of value to the industry.

Resume Writing Tip #2 – When using an objective it is important that it clearly state your purpose and target.   The objective should be about the value you bring not your expectations about how the company can give you an opportunity to grow your own career!  An example of bringing value might be “I’m looking for a career as a Crime Scene Investigator where I can use my ability to catch details, create processes and learn new technology to advance an organization’s reputation and success.”

Resume Writing Tip #3 – With a functional resume, have a good understanding of and outline how you work. Identify and describe your unique patterns of behavior - those that give you success (key success patterns) and showcase the value you bring.  Do you see a recurring theme here?  What makes you different from the other 300 resumes received for this position?  What sets you apart? 

Resume Writing Tip #4 – Avoid including so much information that the reader has a hard time following who you are.  Don’t worry about trying to include something for everyone (“the kitchen sink”).  This will only make you look like a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none.

So, the functional resume is most often used in networking meetings and is used in three instances – to explore markets, to clarify and validate that the target market is a fit, and to position yourself in that market.  The functional resume should be a document that can express your objective, achievements, and patterns of successful behavior. 

After the networking meetings, with a specific job and industry identified, you may want to use the chronological resume if it makes sense to with your job history. When going through the front door to "HR," you will find most recruiters prefer the chronological resume.  We’ll cover the chronological resume in our next newsletter so keep your eyes open for that issue!

 

Resume Writing Tip – Part 2
From Wall of Shame to Taking Aim?

In the last newsletter we covered the functional resume and resume writing tips.  When exploring other career options we often use the functional resume especially when trying to bridge to a new field.  Today, let’s take a look at the chronological resume which takes aim at a particular position/skill set.  This is the type of resume that you probably use now or have used in the past.  It’s used when applying for a job where your job history matches the target and shows a sensible progression of career steps.

Although employers never hire resumes - they hire people - a good resume, if constructed and used properly, can be a great tool to showcase your relevant experience to the target market. And that is the goal of the chronological resume.  The resume is meant to grab the attention of the employer regarding your qualifications so they will call you for an interview.  Employers want to know what you did that yields results. Employers are always looking for what sets you apart from the stack of 40 other resumes sitting on their desk. Don't try to be all to all or you will find yourself editing your resume every two days!  

So how do we grab the attention of the employer?  With a chronological resume.  If it's focused on a particular position or industry and highlights your job experience in that position or industry then it makes sense to use a chronological resume.  Following are a few resume writing tips when developing a chronological resume.

Resume Writing Tip #5 – Like the functional resume, a chronological resume also uses an objective.  Again, it should clearly state your purpose and target.   The objective should be about the value you can bring to the company not your expectations about opportunities the company may be able to offer your career! 

Resume Writing Tip #6 - Show qualifications that you can bring to the organization.  Communicate the knowledge, skills and abilities you can provide to perform the duties of the job.  Show how you can benefit the employer and be successful in this position.  Let the resume highlight your uniqueness.  Your combined assets, abilities, talents, experience and education are not like anyone else’s. 

Resume Writing Tip #7 - A resume should not be an exaggeration of skills or an unorganized clump of job descriptions all printed on quality paper.  With new and improved ways to check background information, it’s important that only the facts are stated and no exaggerations.  A discovered exaggeration could mean losing the opportunity to move further in the recruiting process.

Resume Writing Tip #8 – In the overall look of the chronological resume, here are several general tips:
* The resume should not show or state height, weight, whether you’re married or single, a smoker or non-smoker or willing to relocate. 

* Clean up any typing errors or grammatical errors. Find someone to proof read the resume. 
* The resume should be neat, clearly written and inviting to read.
* The resume should be no more than two pages in length with the most important information on page one.
* The resume should show the length of employment for each position.  Break it down to the actual month and year you started and left each position.